The Mile-High Messiah

Tim Tebow is a lightning rod. With his natural penchant for attracting critics and supporters alike, along with his leadership ability, it's a shame that Tebow can't be elected President in the future (he was born in Makati City, Philippines, to Baptist missionary parents). Outside of the sports media hotbeds of New York and Boston, very few players in any sport attract as much attention, positive or negative, as the Denver Broncos quarterback. The 1st round, 25th-overall 2010 NFL draft pick was viewed by some media personalities (like NBC's Tony Dungy) as being selected too low, and was viewed as drastically overrated by others (like ESPN NFL draft guru Mel Kiper Jr.).

After leading his team to a win this Thursday night over the New York Jets, Tim Tebow is 4-1 as an NFL starter. Given his 34-6 record as the quarterback at the University of Florida, an SEC powerhouse that plays few "easy" games each year, this should seem somewhat logical. However, Tebow finds his skills doubted and his successes undermined seemingly every week both by the media and public opinion.

Broncos coach John Fox and Executive Vice President of Football Operations (and legendary Broncos quarterback) John Elway have inherited Tim Tebow. Neither man was on staff when Tebow was drafted, and both were being skewered weekly in the local media during the Broncos' 1-4 start to the 2011 season. Public opinion can become an unstoppable wave of momentum, and it seems like Fox's hand was forced into benching starter Kyle Orton going into week 7.

On October 11th, the Broncos named Tebow the starting quarterback for their game against the Miami Dolphins, and the public got its wish. However, six days later, the Broncos traded 2010-Pro Bowl wide receiver Brandon Lloyd to the St. Louis Rams...for only a conditional 2012 draft pick.

In addition to stripping Tebow of his most talented and most reliable receiver, the Broncos front office had more thoughts concerning their newly-anointed "savior." Coach Fox took a buzzsaw to the playbook, removing complex pass plays, a staple to any NFL team, adding in numerous multiple-option running plays (usually only used in the collegiate or high school levels), and running a whopping 79% of their plays from the shotgun (as opposed to the "pro-style" formation of having a quarterback under center).

At first glance, this seems awfully nice of Fox: he's trying to put Tebow in the situations in which he excelled most as the Florida Gators' quarterback. However, put in a different light, it might seem that Fox is trying to bring Tebow's flaws to light. By "dumbing down" the playbook to Tebow's collegiate level, Fox is essentially pitting an amateur quarterback against professional defenses.

What do Fox and the Broncos front office stand to gain from showing Tebow as the rookie that he is? If public opinion falters in its support of Tebow, Fox and Elway could then have the freedom to put the team that they want on the field without backlash from their fans. I don't think that either Fox or Elway dislike Tebow as a person, nor do I think that either wants him to fail as a professional. However, the actions that have been taken by the Broncos as they relate to Tebow seem to be much like a father letting his son try something for the first time. He knows that the son isn't equipped to succeed, and that the son will return to the father humbled and hopefully eager to learn from the father's experience.

However, Tebow doesn't seem like the type to be obstinate in his talents. He seems humble and eager already, so why not treat him as such? Mr. Elway and Coach Fox, treat Tebow like an NFL quarterback. Feed him an NFL-style playbook, a little at a time. Force him to learn how to pass in a way that will allow him to succeed for years as your quarterback of the future. As all of America knows from his public "promise" following Florida's loss to the University of Mississippi in 2008, he is willing to play harder than anyone we've ever seen.

The Sing-Off Top 5

The Sing-Off starts off this week's episode with 5 groups remaining, and the week's theme is R&B. With that said, the opening number blended old school with new wave by starting with James Brown, then moving to the Jackson 5, and ultimately finishing with Beyonce's "Crazy in Love." In each episode, these opening songs are such a great part of the show, and this is one of my favorites of the season. Here are my thoughts on each group's performances of the night:

Dartmouth Aires - Ignition (Remix), Midnight Train to Georgia

They have such a great community feel to them, and with their five (or six?) leads that kept passing off the melody, it accomplished that goal of communal song. They've been really reliant on just one lead for the past couple weeks, so it was nice to prove that they're not a one-man show with this song. It was also just so much fun, these guys are the party starters and they made me smile from the first beat. Their old school song was a choral arrangement more than a fun Broadway thing like they usually do. They went back to their bread-and-butter lead, and it really seemed like a concert instead of a competition. These guys bring the crowd up on stage with them emotionally, and it's really a refreshing dynamic.

Urban Method - Knock You Down, It's Your Thing

This song definitely was right in their wheelhouse, but the fact remains that I'm not a fan of their female voices. It was one of their best performances on the show, and the tall dude with the mohawk is their X-factor. For this song they put him on bass....because that's where the dam is leaking the most. But he's good enough to be their lead, so big ups to him for being versatile. Their second song was mostly a pass-it-off song of drum solos between the guys while the ladies screeched in the background. I feel like anything the judges are saying positively about their performance is pure sugar-coating at this point. They deserved to go home this week, just like each of the past 3 weeks. I wonder if they sound much better live?

Vocal Point - Every Little Step, Ain't Too Proud To Beg

Such a departure from their usual sound - but they pulled it off so well! The breakdown in the middle quite possibly was the best 30 seconds of the show to date, between a sick beatboxer, great, guilty-pleasure-dance moves, and then some remix effects on the last chorus. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Their classic R&B choice was a Temptations song, and they busted out their deep voice to lead this one. It wasn't quite tight as it neared the end of the song, and I felt like there were a few pitch issues, but it's near-impossible to not like these guys! Seeing them leave was difficult because they have such star power, but they haven't been as consistent as some of the other groups, so their departure is defensible.

Afro-Blue - We Belong Together, Best of My Love

Taking on Mariah Carey, their groove was flawless throughout the song. Their bass is so fluid and just plain solid, and the guys provide such a great foundation for the female vocals to use as a springboard. The lead was so good, and didn't try to emulate Mariah, which is impossible - but rather, she just did what she could, and it worked. Their old school song was one that I've never heard before, but it seemed to be right in their kitchen. With their lead Danielle, they've got someone who is strong enough to lead their ensemble of girls, but with a vocal tone that sits so well within what the male voices bring. These guys probably won't win it all, but that will be America's fault, and definitely nothing that they've done wrong.

Pentatonix - OMG, Let's Get It On

Having their incredible lead take on Usher is a great comparison, and their arrangement was just. so. good. They have the beat/bass drop out at the right moments, and when they do, they can just go with their super-tight trio. Then, without skipping a beat, the two guys can join back in and bring in a huge momentum boost to the group. It was such a good vocal, and these guys are so far ahead from everybody else that it's not even funny. Then, they take a Marvin Gaye song (a personal favorite) and put just the right amount of their own spin on it...and absolutely murder it. Such a great performance, and there were no tricks to it - just great singing. Also, with Kevin's sticking up for his religious beliefs, I just fall more in love with these guys as a group each week.

Going into the Final Four, here are my power rankings:

1. Pentatonix

2. Dartmouth Aires

3. Afro-Blue

4. Urban Method

Back to The Sing-Off

After quite a lay-off, I decided to blog about today's episode of The Sing-Off. Coming into this episode, I'd say that the power rankings look like this (taking into account the whole season to date):

1. Pentatonix

2. Dartmouth Aires

3. Afro-Blue

4. Vocal Point

5. Delilah

6. Urban Method

To be honest, I think the eliminations have gone pretty much as they should throughout the show. Now, any group except for Urban Method can win it and I don't think it would be an injustice. However, I still think that Pentatonix fits what the judges look for - they're a small, close-knit group with individualized roles for each person. Looking at the past winners (Nota and Committed), Pentatonix seems to fit the mold the most.

The Arcade Fire song to start the show was actually really cool, and I like how the numbers are getting down to the point where everyone can fit on stage without it looking like the kid's cattle race at the rodeo. Here are my thoughts on each group's two performances:

Pentatonix - Their rock song was "Born To Be Wild," and I loved some things about it. The big silence before they started the chorus was a great effect, and they just have the best bass/beatboxer in the whole show and their trio of singers fit well together. However, minus points for hilariously awful fashion. I was nervous about what song they would pick to do for country, since they're so techno/dubsteppy. A Sugarland song had the good high melody that Pentatonix needs for their trio of singers, and then whoa! Out of nowhere they bust out a reggae groove for one of the choruses, and then they come back to their perfect blend for the end. They're gonna win the whole thing.

Dartmouth Aires - After last week's really awesome Queen medley, they did "We're Not Gonna Take It" and it was really great! I liked the back-and-forth between the two leads and the school choir bit right at the end. They used to have trouble deciding who would be their lead, but it seems that the black dude, Michael, has taken that role by storm. If I had a complaint, it seemed, like all of D'Aires' songs, to be really treble-y. Their country song was "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" and it was very different from what they usually do. However, it wasn't bad - it definitely had a line dance feel to it, and the singing wasn't opera-quality, but what can you expect from some boys from Hanover, New Hampshire?

Afro-Blue - The resident jazz group took on "American Girl" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and their "rock" sound just wasn't very rock-y. I thought the national anthem in the middle was...kind of random, but it sounded good? It was interesting. THEN, they had to do a country song: basically, they were gonna be screwed going into this week. Lady Antebellum was probably one of the best song choices they could pick, and they brought their intelligent arrangement style to this, with their bass being really evident of that. However, I didn't think it was emotional enough to have the girls crying at the end of the song, so that kind of confused me watching them wipe tears away while they're being judged. Guess you just had to be there.

Delilah - An all-girl group has to sing a rock song? I guess if they're not going to do a Heart song, they might as well cover Steven Tyler. "Dream On" is one of my favorite Aerosmith songs, so maybe I'm just more critical of it. The lead girl had some real pitch problems on a couple high notes, but with her Steven Tyler impression, she showed she's definitely got some pipes. It didn't quite fit my expectations. For the country portion, they covered The Band Perry and got back to their strength of slow songs sung with lots of emotion. However, this also brought back more unnerving closeups of Miss Skinhead. Great lead by the other blonde girl - she did a whole heap of justice to the song. It was moving and very well-sung, at least to my ear. I'm so very, very surprised that they got kicked off, and while I think that they shouldn't have gone home this week, their time was coming soon.

Urban Method - The group with a rapper sings...Whitesnake? Whatever, they completely changed it up and made it "modern." If my snark isn't obvious enough, it seemed like a desperate move by a group that feels that their collective backs are against the wall. I didn't like it. Their country song was Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats," and it's obvious at this point that they're relying on the main girl lead's strength to carry them whenever they can't have their rapper take center stage. However, I just really don't think that their girls are strong enough - I didn't like it. I absolutely disagree with their progression to next week.

Vocal Point - The Mormons sing "You Really Got Me" while wearing white, frilly shirts. Sure, just how I predicted it. It started slow, which I actually really liked, and these guys change keys so freaking well. Their lead is like the 5th or 6th out of their 9 to lead a song, and he was just as good as everyone else. Dang boi. Then, what country song would a group of tenors sing? Oh yeah, Rascal Flatts! "Life Is A Highway" was a little too fast for me, but I loved seeing these straitlaced guys wearing black cowboy hats and huge longhorn belt buckles. Again, they change keys as seamlessly as anyone in the whole game - the song was pretty good.

So the power rankings after this week are as follows:

1. Pentatonix

2. Dartmouth Aires

3. Vocal Point

4. Afro-Blue

15. Urban Method (I'm bitter.)